When the Denair volleyball team stepped onto the court at the John Adams Academy gymnasium on Tuesday night, it was uncharted territory. It was the first time in over 20 years that any team in the program's long history had ever appeared in the playoffs.
But the Coyotes weren’t satisfied with just making an appearance. They wanted to make a statement. They wanted to prove that they belonged.
A little less than an hour and a half after the opening whistle, their statement was made. And it looked easy. The Coyotes, the No. 9 seed in the Division 5 playoffs after achieving a 16-8 record in the regular season, dominated 8-seeded Western Sierra Collegiate Academy in straight sets: 25-17, 25-19, 25-17. It was the program’s first playoff victory in more than three decades.
“I always have a feeling when I go in a game. Whether I have a good feeling or a bad feeling about it, I never tell the team what I’m feeling, but I did have a good feeling about this one,” said head coach Marie Stucker. “I knew that if we play like we normally play, things would be good. We’re a great team, but I don’t think I expected a win in three sets, that’s for sure.”
The Coyotes played the ultimate team game, with multiple players pitching in on the scoring.
Abby Hernandez and Madison Gonsalves helped set the tone with accurate serving, while Piper Northcutt played a major role defensively with a handful of digs.
“We were digging everything, we were just following the ball… We were firing on all cylinders, it seemed,” Stucker said.
Next up will be a road date with top-seeded Big Valley Christian at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Lions defeated No. 16 River Islands in straight sets on Tuesday.
“I think their confidence level is pretty steady,” Stucker said of her squad. “But they know that Big Valley is a tough team. They have a lot of big hitters and tall girls, and probably a lot of girls that play club volleyball, but nothing that we haven't seen before.”
Pitman defeats Cosumnes Oaks
Over in the Division 1 bracket, Pitman’s opening round match was completed in similar time, as the No. 6 Pride defeated No. 11 Cosumnes Oaks 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-15).
They will travel to Stockton on Thursday for a second round date with No. 3 St. Mary’s.
As it has been throughout the year, the Pride had a slow start out of the gate, which first-year head coach Ari Amini contributed to some nerves amongst his young team, which features five underclassmen and four juniors
“That first set, I have to give it to Cosumnes Oaks. They came out hungry, they came out strong,” said Amini. “That was a tough fight in that first set, but we were just able to answer. And then as the sets progressed, we found our rhythm. We started to kind of get over the playoff jitters.”
Sparking the rally for the undefeated CCAL champions was Mia Ngo, as the majority of her 11 kills on the night came in the opening set.
“We had seen film on these guys, so we knew what to expect, and it really just came down to our girls going out there and executing the outside hitters to swing line. They started swinging line and getting kill after kill. We knew that if Mia was able to swing line on the right side, she'd get kills, and she went out there and just started hammering line, and they had no way to stop us.”
Maryn Hall had a team-high 13 kills to go with a pair of aces.
Amini described the last set as the perfect display of “Pitman Pride Volleyball,” and that he expects his girls to play better out of the gate when they take the court on Halloween night. Thursday’s match will get underway at 6 p.m.
Other results around the region
The home-court advantage of Bulldog Arena was not enough for No. 8 Turlock to knock off No. 9 Davis Senior, as they lost 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-23) on Tuesday night. Their season ends on a 14-9 overall record following a third-place CCAL finish.
Down Lander Avenue and into Hilmar, the No. 3 Yellowjackets advanced in the Division 4 bracket over No. 14 Ben Holt College Prep Academy of Stockton. Their win came in straight sets by 25-6, 25-20, 25-12 marks, They will host No. 6 El Dorado of Placerville on Thursday.
On the other side of the D-4 bracket, No. 10 Hughson earned a quarterfinal appearance after taking down No. 7 West Campus of Sacramento in four sets 25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23. They will leave the friendly confines of their home gym and travel to Galt to face No. 2 Liberty Ranch on Thursday at 6 p.m.
